East beats Douglass on late layup

Antonio Lewis' layup with 1.2 seconds to play listed East’s E-Rabs to a 71-70 victory over Frederick Douglass in the opener of a Tip-off Classic triple header at Auburn Wednesday.

Taquez Butler hit one of two free throws with 37.1 seconds left to put Douglass ahead 70-69 and Samules missed a shot with 20 seconds remaining. A Douglass turnover gave East another shot and Lewis hit the clincher.

Douglass called three consecutive timeouts to set up a final play, but East’s defense resulted in a short throw-in pass and a long heave from the backcourt.

The lead changed seven times and the score was tied six times in the tight contest. East led for much of the first half, but Douglass closed the gap in the second half and held a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

Butler led all scorers with 21 points. Tyler Johnson chipped in 17 points for the Red Devils.

Samules and Antonio Lewis shared scoring honors for East with 19 points apiece. Sterling Hoarde added 17 points for the E-Rabs who had only five players score.

BOXSCORE

Rockford East 71, Memphis Douglass 70

East .......... 17 19 21 14 - 71
Douglass... 14 18 20 18 - 70

EAST - Lewis 7 4-7 19, Samules 7 2-3 19, Barry-Sneed 4 3-3 11, S. Hoarde 6 5-8 17, Harris 2 1-1 5. Totals 26 15-22 71.
DOUGLASS - D. Johnson 0 1-6 1, Butler 6 8-10 21, T. Johnson 7 3-4 17, Chandler 2 0-0 4, Thompson 2 2-2 6, Powell 4 0-0 9, Brittman 5 0-0 10, Bond 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 14-22 70.
3-pointers: East 4 (Samules 3, Lewis), Douglass 2 (Butler, Powell).